Adjustable shore.



1'. E. HODGES.

ADJUSTABLE SHORE.

APPILICATION FILED OCT. 31. mm,

l,%%,8%5@ v Patentd Apr. 1,1919.

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JESSE E. HODGES, OF COVINGTON, KENTUCKY.

ADJUSTAB E snonn Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. iana.

Application filed October 31, 1917. Serial No. 199,433.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JEssE E. Hooons, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Covington, in the county of Kenton and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Adjustable constructions. Such shores when adjustable,

' may be used over and over again, and are made knock-down so that upon completing the concrete work, they may be removed and stored for further uses.

In the shore according to my invention,

- there is a central column and two side pieces or supports, upon which the concrete form's rest. The side pieces are adjustable along the central column, thereby providing for the desired height of the load supported on the side ieces. In the past, there have been shores 0 this type, but so far as I am informed the means for securing the side supports in place along the central column have comprised, at least in part, a mere clamp which pressed the supports against the column and relied upon friction to maintain them in place. The object of my invention is to provide for each of the side supportsa positive lock which will engage under the ends of the supports, and is so pivoted that the load will force it more and more against the central folumn, so as to form a complete wedge or ock.

More specifically, the object of my invention is to provide for a pivoted strap-supported locking member for the end of each side support, together with means for tightening the looks into place and loosening them without the necessity of lifting them upwardly. These objects and other advantages to be noted I accomplish by that certam construction and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more specifically pointed out and claimed.

In the drawings, g

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the adjustable shore locking support.

Fig. 2 is a perspective of the laterally shifta-ble locking cam:

Fig. 3 is a perspective of the driving memher for the locking cam.

Fig. 4 is a top plan of the locking support when in looking position against a central column.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a modification over Figs. 1 to 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective of the wedge used with this modification.

In the shore shown, the central column 1 is fitted'on two opposite sides with the side supports 2. 'The side supports are of equal length, and have on their upper end the loadv supporting head 3.

To hold the side pieces against bending outwardly above their point of engagement, at the ends thereof, with the central column, there should be some form of strap which need merely embrace the three parts of the shore and hold them clamped together., No showing is made ofthis upper strap, since it forms no part of the invention.

For the locking and bracing of the side supports against downward movement on the central column, there are two modifications shown, in one of which a wedge is used to force the one look into place, and in the other in which a camis used for this purpose. Of the two forms, the cam device is the easiest of operation, since in the wedge device the wedges are likely to drop into clamping position while the shores are being adjusted, causing considerable annoyance. The wedge device is perfectly practical, however, although of the two the cam device is preferred.

A U-shaped strap 4 is provided across the open end of which is extended a bolt 5. On the bolt 5 is pivotally suspended a looking clamp 6. This clamp has a cam or eccentric roughened face 7 which lies near the bolt 5, and an extended load supportingface 8, which is preferably secured by a bolt 9 to an angle plate 10.

The strap passes around the central column, and the angle plate is to be screwed onto or merely set against the corner of one of the side supports 2. The proportion of the parts is such that the pressure downward of the side support 8 on the face of the clamp will cause the clamp to swing on its pivot to bring the roughened cam face 7 thereof firmly up against the central column. The clamp will therefore form a positive lock which will prevent the side support from moving downwardly along the central column since such movement would bring the roughened cam face 7 more and more strongly against the centralcolumn.

At the other end of the U-strap 4 is mounted a similar locking clamp to the one described. This clamp 12 has likewise a cam face, as at 11 (Fig. 2), and a load supporting face 12 Instead of being suspended on a bolt, this clamp has small trunnions or pivot pins 13 extending laterally from the webs thereof, which pins are mounted in lateral slots 14 in the U-strap. This clamp has the bolt 15 securing its upper edge to the angle plate 16, for engagement with the lower end of the other side support, as in v the case of the clamp first described.

It is obvious that the clamp 12 must be moved into position with its cam. face against the central column of the shore in order to permit of a locking support for the side shore member. To accomplish this, the preferred form, as above stated, comprises a pivoted driving cam.

In the particular form of driving cam shown, as an example of the invention, there is a rod or bolt 17 extending across between the sides of the U strap, outside the slots for the'clamp lock trunnions. The driving cam has a camface 18, a driving nose 19, and 1sgrrlns 20 which are secured over the rod or o t. i

The above cam device is mounted between the end ofthe U strap and the clamp lock, and when driven upwardly by striking the face 21 of the nose, will force the cam lock inwardly of the strap, by means of the cam face 18 contacting with the interior of the clamp lock. This driving of the lock inwardly is done for the purpose of setting the look after the shore has beenadjusted. The whole device is set over a central column, and the side supports, of equal length preferably, are placed at the necessary height along the central column. The U strap is then pushed up until the fixed pivot lock is in holding-positlon. The driving cam is then struck upwardly which forces the sliding pivoted lock into place, and after a slight sinking of the side supports to bring the locks into tight engagement with the central column, there is no opportunity for slippage.

It can be understood that to release the clamping lock, if the one clamp were not slidable out of position, would be impossible without lifting up the load or breaking the shore. With the structure described, however, the striking of the driving cam downwardly by driving against the face 22 of the nose will permit the slidable clamp to move out of locking engagement, whereupon the side supports, with the U strap and locking supports attached, may be slid down the central column. It is understood further that the lowering of the side supports of the shore will permit the withdrawal of the shore from beneath the load, which in concrete construction Work will be absolutely fixed in position, when it comes time to remove the shore.

The other modification (Figs. 5 and 6) involves a special shape to the U strap at the end adjacent the movable clamp, which consists in the slanting of the end of the strap inwardly at the end. as at 23 (Fig. 5). The wedge 24 is provided, having a size and shape to fit within the U strap and bear against the sloping face thereof. The inner face of the wedge is preferably provided with lugs 25 which fit inside of the webs 26 of the sliding clamp lock. The wedge itself bears against the edges of the webs, and when driven downwardly will force the clamp lock inwardly, thereby accomplishing a locking of the shore. When driven upwardly, the parts are released again as described in connection with the driving cam structure.

It is not believed that any further description of the operation of the device need be given and that the invention is sufficiently shown for purposes of illustration in the alternative structures described above.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. An adjustable shore comprising a cen- 100 tral column, and side supports to be adjustably mounted along said column for supporting the load, and means for removably retaining the side supports against slipping downwardly on the column, comprising a pair of pivoted members adapted to present cam faces to the central column, one" on each side thereof, and load supporting faces to the side supports, said faces being on opposite sides of the pivot points ofsaid members, one of said pivoted members being slidable laterally to ;permit of removal of the said members, for the purpose described. 2. An adjustable shore comprising a central column,'and adjustable side supports, means for holding said side supports against slipping downwardly along said column, comprising a member for engaging the column, and a pair of cam devices pivoted in said column engaging member, and having cam faces against the central column, one on each side thereof, and load supporting faces beneath the side supports, with the load supporting-points on said latter faces being located outside of the pivot of the cam devices whereby the load will force the cam faces against the column and lock the side supports permanently in place'with means for releasing said cam devices to permit removal thereof without raising the parts.

3. An admstable shore comprising a central column, and adjustable side supports,

means for holding said side supports against slipping downwardly along said column, comprising a member for engaging the column, and a pair of cam devices pivoted in 'tion when desired.

supports permanently in place, one of the slidable laterally to percam devices bein mit of withdrawing it from engaging posi- 4. An adjustable shore clamp comprising I a strap or the like for passing around a central column, a cam member pivoted in said strap, and having lateral movement in said strap, said cam member being adapted to re ceive the load of a side support at one end to force the other end against the central column, and means for moving the cam member laterally in the strap comprising an element adapted to bear against the strap at one side and to bear against the and having cam at'the other, and of a'conformation to thrust'the cam member laterally when forced between it and the strap;

5. An adjustable shore clamp comprising a strap or the like for passing around a central column, a cam member pivoted in said strap, and having lateral movement in said strap, said cam member beingadapted to receive the load of a side, support at one end to force the other end'against the central column, and means for moving the cam member laterally in the strap comprisin a pivoted member mounted in the strap outside of the cam member, and adapted to swing in between the strap and the camdevice to thrust it over.

6 An adjustable shore-'clamp'compijising a strap or the like for passing around a central column, a cam member pivoted in said strap, and having lateral movement in said-strap, said cam member being adapted to receive the load of .a side support at one end to force the other end against thecentral column, and means for moving the cam member laterally in the strap comprisinga member pivoted in the strap and having a cam face, said'member having driving faces and adapted when struck on the driving faces to swin between the pivot thereof and .the cam mem er, for the purpose described.

JESSE E. HODGES. 

